Banning The Grapes of Wrath in 1939 California
The Kern County, CA Board of Supervisors got a lesson in the Streisand Effect back in 1939, when they banned The Grapes of Wrath from their libraries and schools.
The Many Afterlives of Rose Levere
Thespian, lawyer, Freemason, spiritualist, and much more, Levere tackled one frontier after another, determined to show the public just what she could do.
Julia C. Collins & the Black Elite of the Gilded Age
HBO's The Gilded Age has done its homework on Black History, creating a character based upon real life wealthy Black women of the time.
Behind Bars: The Invention of Mass Incarceration
Join us Wednesday, March 23, for a free online event. Editor Morgan Godvin in conversation with penal historian Ashley Rubin.
Filler Words and Floor Holders: The Sounds Our Thoughts Make
So, well, okay, um, like, you know, right?
Sammy Davis, Jr.’s Conversion Mishegoss
Sammy Davis Jr.'s conversion to Judaism in 1960 was met with skepticism, derision and yes, jokes by the members of the groups he claimed and embraced.
Batman: A Hero or a New ‘Mr. Hyde’?
The parallels between Bruce Wayne/Batman and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde are examined through the lenses of Gothic literature and psychological symbolism.
Are Video Games Like Novels?
Video games as interactive storytelling? Maybe not at first glance, but as Eric Hayot explains, the interplay between game and narrative is real.
The Short but Influential Run of Ebony and Topaz
The 1927 art and literature magazine only ran for a single issue, but “proved an integral component of Harlem Renaissance cultural production."